Has Andrea Belotti left it too late to leave Torino this summer?
Sometimes, it takes looking in the least expectant places to find exactly what you want. Italian football has been searching for a great striker for almost three decades now but, even with a few pretenders, the Azzurri have never really been able to replace their 1982 World Cup winning hat-trick hero Paolo Rossi.
It seems ridiculous to call Roberto Mancini, Roberto Baggio, Gianluca Vialli, Christian Vieri, Filippo Inzaghi and Luca Toni pretenders; each of them had a fantastic career, winning trophies and scoring goals at the highest level. But for one reason or another, they never really provided their best on the international stage, or in the case of Baggio and Mancini, like Francesco Totti, Alessandro Del Piero and Gianfranco Zola, they played in too deep a role to be considered a true ‘number nine’.
In a way, the lack of an emphatic striker is understandable. The one trophy won since 1982, the 2006 World Cup, was won off the back of defensive strength, something that has become synonymous with the Serie A, with Fabio Cannavaro and Alessandro Nesta basking in the spotlight. Toni was the main hope playing for Fiorentina; he’d scored 31 goals the previous campaign, but did not really shine that summer. It was a great opportunity missed, but he didn’t fall away, joining Bayern Munich a year later.
Eleven years on, and Italy are still yet to find their focal point, but they may have struck gold in recent months. Andrea Belotti, the Torino striker, has shot to world fame over the last year or so, emerging from the shadows to score 26 goals for Il Toro, as they finished the campaign in ninth place. At 23, and with four goals in nine games for the Azzurri, the hope is there that, finally, coach Gian Piero Ventura has his man; a world class striker worthy of taking the responsibility of carrying such pressure.
It seems unnatural for Belotti to remain in Turin, and the shadow of Serie A champions Juventus, beyond this summer, but then he was never expected to be the great hope his form has propelled him into being. As a youngster, he enjoyed a good season in the lower leagues with AlbinoLeffe, scoring 14 goals in 37 games before moving to Palermo in 2013. His spell in Sicily was much less prolific, with 14 in 67, but he has really taken off in the dark red of Torino.
Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, AC Milan, even Barcelona and Real Madrid, have all reportedly taken interest in Belotti over the summer, with some sections of the media taking his departure for granted. Yet, the man himself has never commented that he’d like to leave and he is allegedly has an £80 million release clause in his contract, which very few clubs have been keen to activate. Torino president, Urbano Cairo, has today once again insisted he will not be leaving.
Loyalty is dying in football, of that there is no doubt, and while Belotti’s desire to stay, which he has previously stated, is to be respected, he could be missing his chance to progress. Of the clubs mentioned above, each have signed a big name striker already; Chelsea have bought Alvaro Morata, Romelu Lukaku has joined Manchester United, Arsenal paid up for Alexandre Lacazette and Milan struck for FC Porto’s Andre Silva. Real Madrid are said to be locked in negotiations for Monaco’s 18-year-old striking sensation Kylian Mbappe and Barça could replace PSG target Neymar with Paulo Dybala of Juventus. Each and every avenue appears to be closing.
As last summer became known for the movement of coaches, particularly in the Premier League, this year is all about the strikers. There aren’t too many elite players around in the position, and a number of those available have already moved on. Whether Belotti is among them is a matter of opinion, because he hasn’t performed at his current level for long enough for that to be deciphered yet.
Milan have got the world’s attention for their heavy expenditure after their Chinese takeover, particularly luring Leonardo Bonucci to the San Siro from Juve, and they do remain keen to sign Belotti, recently entering negotiations. Silva’s presence, and the lingering question over UEFA’s Financial Fair Play regulations, put that move in doubt, though.
Also read: Scout Report: Andrea Belotti, Torino's 23-year-old striker who has taken Serie A by storm
Only a few years ago, 23 would have been seen as a development age for a striker. The most pressurised role on the pitch needs perfecting like an art, and although Belotti demonstrated his strength as a finisher particularly last term, some would say he isn’t ready. But as time goes on, expectation falls on much younger shoulders; football no longer waits for development and Belotti needs to be ready to step up now.
Of course, there is an argument to say another year with Torino will confirm his quality ready for a big move next summer, but as the game moves on quickly, the risks of not leaving this summer could be huge. Now could be his chance, there are no guarantees he’ll get another.
Comparing Andrea Belotti to the great Paolo Rossi, or even Baggio, Mancini and Vialli, seems rather silly right now. But he is fast becoming Italy’s main striker, something they have really missed over the years; he’s laid the groundwork and proved himself, the next thing to do is join a big club, preferably in the Champions League. The question is: has he left it too late this summer?